Tag: Erica Alvarez-Freites
Cuban migrant arrested, baby taken into care
(CNS): Javier Freites, the man who appears to have led the standoff between the Cuban migrants and local authorities last week, has been arrested, officials have confirmed. The Cubans were removed from the MV Bulk Freedom, the ship that had rescued them out at sea, late Thursday night. However, Customs and Border Control stated that […]
Cubans leave boat as standoff ends
(CNS): The MV Bulk Freedom was finally able to leave the George Town harbour late last night after the stand-off between the Cuban migrants and the Cayman authorities ended. The government obtained a court order to get treatment for a sick infant among the group after her parents repeatedly refused to accompany her to hospital […]
Captain insists Cuban migrants must get off his ship
(CNS): The captain of the MV Bulk Freedom has indicated that he is unwilling to take the Cuban migrants currently occupying a communications room aboard his vessel to any other port and has insisted that the group must disembark here in the Cayman Islands, according to the latest official update on the impasse. Customs and […]
Baby falls ill as Cuban Facebook stream cuts off
(CNS): Social media posts by Cuban refugees and migrants aboard the Bulk Freedom show that Jouz Javier Freites’ phone was cut off at around 8:00 Thursday morning and he is no longer able to live-stream the situation on the cargo ship. Meanwhile, his baby is believed to be very unwell and in need of medical […]
Cubans still refuse to leave tanker
(CNS) UPDATED 2:20pm Wednesday: Officials have now confirmed that there are 12 adults and one baby aboard the Bulk Freedom, a merchant tanker which remains anchored in George Town Harbour as the stand-off between Customs and Border Control (CBC) and a group of Cuban migrants, who are refusing to disembark, continues. One man, who is […]
Refugee family allowed to stay together
(CNS): Cabinet has used its powers to allow the family of a refugee to stay together until a gap in the immigration legislation has been addressed. Erica Alvarez-Freites will be allowed to remain in Cayman and legally work for two years, by which time the law will have been changed to enable her to regularize […]
Early election stalls bill for refugee rights
(CNS): The Cayman Islands government was expected to bring amendments to immigration legislation to Parliament in the first quarter of this year that would fix the conflict between the law and the country’s Bill of Rights as well the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. But the decision by Premier Alden McLaughlin to […]
Legal gap threatens Cuban refugee family
(CNS): Government has accepted that a gap in the law is causing problems for a family of Cuban refugees who have been protesting outside the government building this week. Javier Freites has been granted asylum in the Cayman Islands, but while his 10-month-old baby daughter also has the right to reside here with him, the […]
